May 6, 2003

Craig Lehmann, PhD

It has become quite evident that as more and more of our population reaches the “golden years,” current health care utilization practices will need to be altered. For example, individuals over the age of 65 are far more likely to visit the emergency department or physician’s office than their younger counterparts, and they are also more likely to be admitted to a hospital than the rest of the population.

There are enormous economic gains to be had from changing these practices. One widely recognized key to better patient manage is to provide health care where patients live—in their homes, in long-term care facilities, assisted living communities, etc. This “home” care allows patients to remain in comfortable, familiar surroundings, and at the same time reduces their encounters with more expensive healthcare facilities such as emergency departments.

Because of the strides made in data transfer, information systems, and telehealth, this can now be accomplished. For example, patients today can sit in their home and send vital signs and point-of-care test results to their health care provider via a phone line. In addition they can have a computer-based, face-to-face conversation about those test results without ever leaving home.

This presentation will provide an overview of health care utilization of the aged and offer examples of telehealth technologies and research endeavors in this area.